[sdiy] Model 2 Klee Sequencer (was "Leaving off a pot?")

[Michael Bacich]

On Nov 18, 2006, at 2:34 PM, <scottnoanh at peoplepc.com>  
<scottnoanh at peoplepc.com> wrote:

> When more than one stage is active, the voltages programmed by the  
> active
> stage pots add up to form the output.

In my opinion, this function would be most interesting if you were  
running the summed CV output through a scale quantizer that  
constrained the output voltages to only notes that fell within a  
particular musical scale or mode (for instance C Major, or D minor  
Pentatonic).  This would ensure that the various unexpected  
combinations of the summed multiple stages would always yield  
"musical" results.  Yes, I know that everyone's definition of  
"musical" is different, but I happen to like tonal music, and I think  
this method of creating unexpected combinations of notes that still  
sound tonal would be very fun.

By way of contrast, if you were to tune two stages to a bunch of  
notes that were tuned to a particular musical scale or mode, for  
instance, the aforementioned C Major or D Minor Pentatonic, and then  
summed the random-ish combinations of those notes, you would end up  
with a few very nice note output combinations, and probably just as  
many (if not more) few real clinkers -- that is, notes that did not  
sound good in either scale.  (for instance, if there were two stages  
being summed, both with all notes tuned to a C Major scale, if the  
two stages happened to output the E natural note, and those two E  
naturals were summed together, the resulting output would be G#, not  
exactly the most harmonious note to use in a C Major improvisation).

Then again, Don Buchla hated keyboards -- at least the kind with  
black and white keys.  I imagine that he wasn't too fond of the C  
Major scale, either.